


Untethered

by MoonytheMarauder1



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aromantic, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Coming Out, Family, Family Fluff, Percy is a cool uncle, Uncle Percy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26179237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonytheMarauder1/pseuds/MoonytheMarauder1
Summary: Sometimes, the simplest of words are the hardest to get out. Luckily, Roxanne has someone who is willing to listen—and even better, someone who understands.
Relationships: Implied George Weasley/Angelina Johnson, Percy Weasley & Roxanne Weasley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Untethered

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all! Long time no see? Oops? Anyway, I posted this story on ffn a while ago, but I decided to post it here as well. It's very personal to me, as I identify as on both the aromantic and asexual spectrums. I've used my own experiences here, but keep in mind that everyone's experience is valid! I am in no way speaking for every asexual or aromantic person. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Roxanne wiped a hand across her forehead as the summer sun beat down on her from above. It really was a gorgeous day: clear blue skies, clouds that stretched like cotton above her head, warm sand between her toes… it was all very picturesque.

She could do without the heat, though. Sighing a little at her own wishful thinking, Roxanne gathered her thick, dark, curly hair into a knot on the top of her head. It didn't make her much cooler, but it certainly helped. The seventeen-year-old stole a glance at her uncle, who, despite the sunblock he'd applied earlier in the day, was already beginning to burn. Judging by the resigned look in his blue eyes, he knew it, too. She didn't envy his pale skin.

"Hot?" she teased, barely suppressing a smile.

Uncle Percy's glance at her was half-annoyed, half-amused. "Ha ha," he said dryly. "You just had to inherit your dad's sense of humor, didn't you?"

"Mmm." Roxanne grinned wickedly. "Expect a lot of tomato jokes before we get home."

Percy just rolled his eyes and hitched the bag carrying their picnic supplies higher on his shoulder. Their beach picnic was an annual tradition; it was, in fact, the only day of the year Roxanne ever saw her lawyer uncle in anything casual. Freddie still didn't believe her when she told him she'd seen Percy in swim shorts and a T-shirt.

Calling it an annual tradition might be a bit generous, though; they'd only begun doing this two years ago, when Roxanne had confided in him that a friend had asked her to a party and told her to bring a date—and why that simply wasn't going to work for Roxanne.

* * *

_She really wasn't sure why she was so nervous. This wasn't something she was ashamed about, and it wasn't something she was afraid of people knowing. Still, she twirled the phone cord around her finger as the words got stuck in her throat._

_Percy waited on the other end patiently for several minutes while Roxanne tried to figure out why this was so hard._

" _Go put on something you don't mind getting wet," he said at last. "I'll be over in five minutes."_

_So she did as he said, throwing on some shorts and a ratty old T-shirt. Her uncle showed up exactly when he said he would, carrying a bag filled with a blanket, umbrella, and food, and, with a shouted explanation to her father, he took her to the beach._

_They were in the middle of their picnic lunch when Percy finally put down his sandwich and fixed his niece with one of his famous no-nonsense stares. "All right, Roxanne. What's going on?"_

_She sucked in a breath and held it. Percy was single—she couldn't remember a time when he'd gone on a date, though she knew he had during his school years—and so he'd seemed like the perfect confidant. But what if she was wrong?_

_She shook the thought from her head as soon as it entered. She knew she wasn't wrong. It was just a difficult thing to articulate._

" _I was invited to a party," she said at last, her black eyes meeting her uncle's blue. "My friend said to bring a date."_

" _Okay." Percy drew the word out slowly, like he was trying to puzzle out her meaning. "And the issue is…?"_

_Roxanne released her breath. "I don't want to bring a date."_

_Understanding dawned on her uncle's face, and Roxanne wasn't sure whether she wanted to hold his gaze or avoid it; she glanced from his face to the water, then back again. "Ah," he said. He stretched his legs out, his sandaled feet landing beside her knee. "I see."_

_She waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything. She raised her brows, daring him—begging him—to say something. "Well?" she demanded at last, her voice loud and assured, like she wasn't dying from anticipation. Like her stomach wasn't in knots._

_Percy smiled kindly at her, his curly red hair already damp with perspiration. "Join the club, Roxie," he told her. He reached out and squeezed her hand. "Join the club."_

_Her eyes darted to his face. "You don't—"_

" _Nah," he interrupted. "You figured it out earlier than I did, though." He looked at her carefully. "You don't have to be in love with somebody in order to be happy."_

" _I know," she assured him quickly. "I just—" A startled laugh escaped her lips, and she dragged her hands through her hair. "I don't know why this is so difficult."_

_She'd never thought he would react badly. She hadn't expected to be met with anything but open-armed acceptance. Still… there was something about volunteering the information that scared her. There was a permanence there that she wasn't sure she wanted to invite._

_But now she had. And now Percy was pulling her into a tight hug._

" _These things are never easy," he told her quietly. "And you don't… you don't need to apologize for that." Percy pressed a kiss to her temple and then pulled away. "I told Bill first," he informed her. "I sort of wish I'd started with Charlie, because Charlie understands a bit better. Bill was fine with it, of course, but he looked so confused when I tried to explain it all to him."_

_Percy's lips twitched with amusement now, but Roxanne pictured him at her age, maybe a few years older or younger, struggling to explain that he'd prefer not to be kissed. Ever. Struggling to explain that he was happy to spend the rest of his life without any sort of romantic connection._

_She felt a rush of gratitude that her first time coming out to someone was to someone who understood._

" _Were you…" She struggled to get the words out. "Did you feel alone?"_

" _Hmm." He considered her for a moment, tilting his head to the side. His glasses sat crooked on his nose and the tips of his ears were sunburned, but there was still something so put-together about him. "A bit, perhaps. I was trying to understand myself—many different things about myself—at that time, so I was a jumbled mess. Things got better when Charlie told me he was asexual, though. We talked a lot… and that helped."_

_He turned back to his niece. "You can always talk to me about it, Roxanne. When it comes to my love life" —he grinned slowly— "I'm an open book."_

_She snorted out a laugh, and just like that, the tension was broken. There was a very strong desire to say the words, though—to just be bold and state it explicitly._

" _Uncle Percy." She sat up straighter, and this time, it was easy to look into his eyes. "I'm aromantic."_

_Glowing with pride, Percy nudged one of her feet with his. "That's my girl."_

* * *

The boardwalk was, as always, crowded. Percy was excellent at navigating through crowds, though; Roxanne's dad joked that it was a superpower of his. In no time, they were sitting comfortably in the sand, celebrating the conversation that had taken place two years prior.

It was a day just for the two of them, and Roxanne loved the excuse to have her uncle all to herself.

She took a large bite of her sandwich and smiled at him. Her mum had said just the other day that Uncle Percy was beginning to look a lot like Grandad, and Roxanne had to agree. Here on the beach, seeing him so relaxed… he was almost a different person than when he was all buttoned up for a day in court. He certainly resembled Arthur Weasley much more than any of his siblings.

"You're a lot of fun," she told her uncle suddenly. "I really like doing this with you."

He seemed a little startled at first, but then he smiled easily at her. "I do, too," he admitted softly. "Sometimes I feel like I don't spend enough time with you lot." He hesitated, and something akin to regret flashed across his features. "I just… I want you all to know that you can come to me with anything. I'm don't try to be absent."

If she didn't know about his struggles to balance ambition and family in his youth, his statement would have confused her. But as it was, she was very familiar with that piece of history.

She kicked him gently in the knee. "You're _not._ " She took another bite of her sandwich, swallowed, then said, "You're the only person I can really talk to about this. You're the only one who really understands." A slow exhale passed her lips. "It really does mean a lot to me, Uncle Percy."

And it did. All the conversations she'd had with him over the years had been invaluable to her. She'd learned so much: He found men attractive, but had no interest in forming romantic relations with them. She discovered that she was much the same, but the opposite; she thought girls were gorgeous. She'd learned that he'd spent a lot of his younger years trying to determine whether or not what he was feeling was romantic or platonic attraction, and that Penelope Clearwater—whom he'd dated before he realized where his true attraction lied—had been incredibly understanding when he'd broken up with her.

And knowing that part of the journey of self discovery was making mistakes… that had made all the difference in her life. It had given her the courage to make her own mistakes, to discover her own self.

Roxanne didn't have the words to tell him all that yet, and she certainly didn't have the vocabulary to express the depth of her gratitude. Maybe she never would. But she crawled across the picnic blanket and hugged her uncle tightly, and when he returned her embrace just as tightly, she knew he heard all of her unspoken words.

"Let's go in the water," she suggested, kicking off her sandals and tugging his hand as though she was still ten years old. "Come _on_!"

Percy shot her an exasperated look—it wasn't the first of the day, nor would it be the last—but he allowed her to pull him to his feet. "You're a menace," he deadpanned. "Aren't you supposed to have matured by now?"

She only smirked. "You're not nearly as old as you pretend to be."

She shrieked and danced out of the way of the sand he kicked at her in retaliation, sprinting to the sparkling water of the ocean.


End file.
